The two sides who will head to Wembley to compete for promotion to the Premier League will be determined on Saturday when the Sky Bet Championship Play-off semi-final second legs are played out over the course of the day.
Both the semi-finals are delicately poised after tight first legs which means we are all set up for plenty of twists and turns and the excessive amounts of drama that the play-offs provides us with on an annual basis.
Where to watch
Both matches will be shown live on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football channels with the games kicking off at 12.30pm and 6.30pm. Both games have a 30 minute build up.
Brentford vs Bournemouth (12.30 – Agg: 0-1)
The first semi-final to reach a conclusion is the one featuring Brentford and AFC Bournemouth in a match where whoever qualifies will be a warm favourite to make it to the Premier League next weekend.
Bournemouth hold a narrow 1-0 lead heading to the capital but with Brentford playing in front of fans for the first time this year, they will be confident of wiping out that deficit and giving themselves a chance to make up for losing in the play-off final last season. Away goals don’t count so the clean sheet that Bournemouth kept in the first leg only really counts for anything if they keep another one here. Anything else and you get the impression this match could really fire into life.
I expected a tight first leg but I’m expecting this one to be a little more open because at some point Brentford are going to have to score a goal but I don’t think Bournemouth can head into this match just looking to keep a clean sheet so I think the status of the tie and the way it is sitting going into the match will lead to goals being scored. We are in the position where every goal completely changes the dimension of the tie and I think that will lead to more than 2.5 of them being scored.
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Swansea City vs Barnsley (18.30 – Agg: 1-0)
The second semi-final sees Swansea City playing in front of their own fans inside the Liberty Stadium for the first time this season when they welcome Barnsley, with the home side looking to convert a 1-0 lead to book a trip to Wembley.
Swansea were in this exact position at the halfway mark in the tie last year when they led Brentford 1-0 after the first leg of their semi-final but they succumbed in the second game, albeit away from home, and will be looking to avoid a repeat of that. I mentioned in the first leg that the ‘they have nothing to lose’ sentence that gets trotted out when outsiders like Barnsley are involved in these big matches was nonsense but actually it carries a little more weight here now that they are behind in the tie. In saying that though, Swansea are a tough nut to crack from in front and if anyone has the ability to successfully defend a one goal lead it is them. I still fear the over though, especially if there is an early goal so I’ll just watch this one rather than get involved in it.
Tips
WON – Back Brentford vs Bournemouth – Over 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with BetVictor
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